Around Us

Published 1:00 pm, Wednesday, April 13, 2011

LUBBOCK - A grand jury investigation on Tuesday cleared of any wrongdoing a Lubbock police officer who shot and killed a man in the line of duty earlier this year.

Jennifer Breazeale will not face charges for the shooting death of 25-year-old Jermar McKinzie.

Breazeale killed McKinzie when the officer responded to a domestic dispute between him and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Zitra Rivera, at about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 20. McKinzie was holding a knife over Rivera's throat as if he was about to stab her.

The officer at least twice commanded McKinzie to drop the knife, police said. When McKinzie didn't drop the weapon, Breazeale fired three shots - one hit McKinzie in the chest, one hit him in the torso and another hit him in his lower neck.

A preliminary investigation by LPD detectives and the agency's internal shooting review board indicated Breazeale was justified, but the case was presented to a Lubbock County grand jury for routine review. - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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LUBBOCK - Some Texas Tech employees are uneasy about a sweeping audit of Texas' public insurance plan that threatens to drop dependents from coverage if state workers fail to submit certain documents.

Those enrolled in the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) must submit to Aon Hewitt, the company contracted to conduct the audit, documents verifying their dependents' eligibility, including birth and marriage certificates and tax records.

According to the company, any dependents whose documents are not submitted by the audit's conclusion in August will be assumed ineligible and automatically dropped from their health, dental and life insurance plans.

Some Tech employees fear eligible dependents could lose coverage for lack of notice.

An Aon Hewitt spokesman declined comment, but the company's informational brochures address the possibility it has inaccurate home addresses on file for some employees and asks those who have not received notice to call a toll-free number.

Jodie Billingsley, director of human resource operations at Tech, said the university is alerting employees to the audit through internal channels, including TechAnnounce and through HR liaisons within departments.

ERS spokeswoman Mary Jane Wardlow said qualification criteria for dependents have not changed. The audit instead strives to pare down fraud and abuse, she said, and is "something that's done periodically." Aon Hewitt brochures say the state will pay more than $21 per dependent-claiming employee - an estimated $2.6 million - for the service, which the company says should result in "significantly more in savings." - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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AMARILLO - With lawmakers proposing deep cuts in state funding for higher education, Amarillo College Board of Regents approved a plan Tuesday to encourage voluntary retirements for at least 74 faculty and staff.

The incentive will provide $50 for each month of service based on the number of months employees have worked for Amarillo College.

Only employees who meet certain guidelines will qualify: those with at least 10 years of college service (at AC or in Texas) and who are eligible for retirement under state retirement programs. An eligible faculty member who taught 12 months a year for 10 years would receive $6,000.

"It's strictly voluntary," Amarillo College President Paul Matney said. "No one is being asked or required to participate."

State budget proposals could slash $11 million from AC's budget over the next two years, or $5.6 million annually. The state contributed $17 million toward Amarillo College's budget of $51 million this year.

The deadline for employees to decide is May 9. Matney anticipates the college would save $500,000 to $1 million next year based on positions the college doesn't fill and positions filled at a lower salary. - Amarillo Globe-News

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CANYON - Canyon officials plan to take a further look at a proposed sign ordinance that some local residents fear would stifle the city's economy.

During a public hearing Tuesday evening, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission discussed an ordinance that would place stiffer regulations on the cost, size and types of signs installed in Canyon in the future. The few residents who addressed the commission argued that restricting the size and type of signs could keep some businesses and tourists from coming to Canyon.

Among several changes in the ordinance, new pole, roof and bench signs would be prohibited; billboards would be restricted to parts of U.S. Highway 60 and Interstate 27 entering Canyon; banners could only go up for 90 days per year; wall signs could take up no more than 10 percent of the space they're attached to; and the cost of putting up a sign would go from $25 to $30. The new ordinance would grandfather existing signs.

Planning and Zoning plans to meet May 10 to discuss some of the concerns and suggestions they got Tuesday, commission member Bill Craddock said. Planning and Zoning plans to have another public hearing in June and will likely send the ordinance to Canyon commissioners this summer, he said. - Amarillo Globe-News